Can You File a Car Accident Claim Without a Police Report in California?

Police reports are helpful tools for documenting an accident and establishing fault. However, even though insurance companies consider police reports important when investigating a claim, they are not required in California. You can still file and succeed on an insurance claim without a police report. A California car accident attorney from Cutter Law can help you build a strong case even if you don’t have a police report to support your claim.

Quicklinks

California Law on Reporting Accidents
Is a Police Report Required to File a Car Accident Claim?
Benefits of Police Reports for Claims
How to File a Claim Without a Police Report If You’ve Been Injured
Contact Cutter Law to Handle Your Car Accident

California Law on Reporting Accidents

Not every accident needs to be reported to police under California law. State law provides a basic standard for when you’re legally required to report an accident:

If an accident results in injury or death: The driver must report the accident and file a written report to the California Highway Patrol or local police within 24 hours. If a police officer responds to the accident on the scene, they will file the report.
If no one was injured in the accident and property damage is minor: You have no legal obligation to report the accident to the police under California law. However, filing a police report is still in your best interest if you plan to file an insurance claim for any property damage sustained in the collision.

Is a Police Report Required to File a Car Accident Claim?

No, a police report is not required to file a car accident claim in California. The absence of a police report won’t prevent you from recovering compensation for your injuries.

Even so, it’s always better to call the police to the accident scene and have them file a police report if you are going to pursue an insurance claim. It provides the parties and insurance companies with critical details about the accident, including driver and witness statements and descriptions of injuries and damages.

While a police report accelerates the claims process, not having one won’t prevent the claim from being processed. Insurance companies generally handle claims with or without police reports. The fact that a police report is not available in your case does not mean you won’t be able to get money back for injuries and property damage you suffered in an accident.

Benefits of Police Reports for Claims

While a police report is not admissible evidence in court proceedings, it can significantly benefit insurance claims. One of the primary benefits of including a police report in an insurance claim is that it helps resolve liability disputes. Both drivers involved in a crash are likely to blame each other for the incident. A police report compiled by an officer serving as a presumably unbiased third party can help insurance companies determine who’s really to blame for an accident.

However, the police officer’s determination of fault is not conclusive. You likely must still gather evidence to support your claim. In addition, if you disagree with the officer’s conclusion, you can refute it with evidence supporting your claim.

Without a police report, you can expect the other driver’s insurance to dispute your version of the accident even more aggressively. This can make settlement negotiations more challenging because you will have less evidence to prove your side of the story.

The primary benefit of a police report is that it serves as a roadmap to obtain key evidence to support a case. A police report can help resolve liability questions after an accident by providing essential details about the collision, including:

Weather
Road conditions
Time of accident
Statements from both drivers
Statements from witnesses

This information allows you to gather key evidence. Without a police report, you will have to find another way to collect this evidence to build your case. A car accident attorney can help you establish your story using other forms of evidence when a police report is not available.

Can I Still Recover Damages if I Was Partially at Fault for an Accident?

In California, you can still recover damages for an accident even if you were partially at fault. California is a pure comparative fault state, meaning the amount you can recover for an accident is reduced in proportion to your share of the blame. Thus, even if you were found to be 99 percent responsible for an accident, you can still recover some damages against the other driver for your injuries. For example, if you were found to be 75 percent responsible for an accident, you could still recover 25 percent of the damages you would have gotten if you were not at fault.

How to File a Claim Without a Police Report If You've Been Injured

If you’re proceeding with an insurance claim without a police report after a crash, you will need to gather evidence to support your claim. Such evidence insurers may ask for include:

Photos or videos of the damage and accident scene
Witness interviews with people who saw the accident
Medical records if you were injured
Statements from all drivers involved in the collision
Documentation of repairs or vehicle damage

These forms of evidence might sound daunting to collect on your own. An experienced car accident attorney can help you gather evidence from many different sources and compile it into a strong case when making an insurance claim and negotiating a settlement.

Contact Cutter Law to Handle Your Car Accident

If you were injured in a California car accident and are trying to proceed with an insurance claim without a police report, Cutter Law can help. We’ve recovered millions of dollars in collision settlements for our clients, including these results:

$678,000 for a pedestrian whose knee and pelvis were injured after being hit by a vehicle
$596,000 for a motorcyclist who was seriously injured when a car failed to yield the right of way

The sooner you call an attorney after an accident, the better your chance of getting the compensation you deserve. Cutter Law can work with you from start to finish to collect evidence and build a strong case.

Legally reviewed by

Brooks Cutter
Founder of Cutter Law

Brooks has a long-established, respected reputation as a skilled trial attorney and a record of proven success.

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